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My son called from graduate school, somewhat discouraged. As part of his degree program, he works with ninth graders, spending his days trying to convince jaded 13 and 14 year olds to care about literature. He’s new to the field and discovering that the major struggle in teaching is not making a lesson plan, but in motivating the students. He wants to reach them now and see regular progress in the classroom, but he’s not getting the feedback he expects. It’s hard to convey the value of patience to someone so young in his chosen career.